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learned to make a good business of re-marking CPUs with higher than rated speeds and selling them as legitimate CPUs. These counterfeit CPUs have created a nightmare where unsuspecting retailers and end users have been given overclocked CPUs. When they run into trouble, they innocently ask for warranty support, only to discover that their CPU is counterfeit and the warranty is void.

If you want to know exactly what type of CPU you’re running, download a copy of the very popular and free CPU-Z utility from www.cpuid.com. CPU-Z gives you every piece of information you’ll ever want to know about your CPU (Figure 5-71).

Figure 5-71 CPU-Z in action

Most people make a couple of adjustments to overclock successfully. First, through jumpers, CMOS settings, or software configuration, you would increase the bus speed for the system. Second, you often have to increase the voltage going into the CPU by just a little to provide stability. You do that by changing a jumper or CMOS setting.

Overriding the defaults can completely lock up your system, to the point where even removing and reinstalling the CPU doesn’t bring the motherboard back to life. (There’s also a slight risk of toasting the processor, although all modern processors have circuitry that shuts them down quickly before they overheat.) Most motherboards have a jumper setting called CMOS clear (Figure 5-72) that makes the CMOS go back to default settings. Before you try overclocking on a modern system, find the CMOS-clear jumper and make sure you know how to use it! Hint: Look in the motherboard manual.

Figure 5-72 CMOS-clear jumper

To clear the CMOS, turn off the PC. Then locate one of those tiny little plastic pieces (officially called a shunt) and place it over the two jumper wires for a moment. Next, restart the PC and immediately go into CMOS and restore the settings you need.

Intel Atom

Intel’s Atom processors are very power-efficient processors designed for applications such as ultra mobile PCs, mobile Internet devices, netbooks, and low-power desktops. The Atom range of CPUs consists of both 32-bit and 64-bit models; however, only the models aimed at the low-power desktop segment support 64-bit so far. Many Atom processors also support hyperthreading, and there are now several dual-core models. Figure 5-73 shows an atom processor.

Figure 5-73 Intel Atom processors

Atom processors support Intel’s SSE3 instructions, but they do not support SSE4. As of this publication, Intel Atom processors have only been released in a package that is soldered directly to the motherboard. Atom processors are manufactured using a 45nm-process, and many feature Intel’s SpeedStep Technology to further reduce their power consumption. The Atom line of processors has become extremely popular for use in netbooks, where heat and power consumption are a primary concern.

Chapter Review

Questions

1. What do registers provide for the CPU?

A. Registers determine the clock speed.

B. The CPU uses registers for temporary storage of internal commands and data.

C. Registers enable the CPU to address RAM.

D. Registers enable the CPU to control the address bus.

2. What function does the external data bus have in the PC?

A. The external data bus determines the clock speed for the CPU.

B. The CPU uses the external data bus to address RAM.

C. The external data bus provides a channel for the flow of data and commands between the CPU and RAM.

D. The CPU uses the external data bus to access registers.

3. What is the function of the address bus in the PC?

A. The address bus enables the CPU to communicate with the memory controller chip.

B. The address bus enables the memory controller chip to communicate with the RAM.

C. The address bus provides a channel for the flow of data and commands between the CPU and RAM.

D. The address bus enables the CPU to access registers.

4. What is the size of the data bus and the L1 cache on a Core 2 Duo CPU?

A. 32-bit data bus, 32-KB L1 cache

B. 64-bit data bus, two 32-KB L1 caches

C.